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Sub Rosa (episode)
Beverly attends her grandmother's funeral, but the mysterious entity that inhabited her grandmother is now focusing on her. Summary Teaser Doctor Beverly Crusher reads a eulogy before her late grandmother's coffin on Caldos II, with Councillor Deanna Troi and Captain Jean-Luc Picard at her side. Describing her grandmother, Felisa Howard; as a healer, and one who offers more than just a healthy body, she will miss her advice, healing, and most of all; her inspiration. Governor Maturin reads lines of Genesis 3:19 as her coffin slowly descends beneath the ground. As the colonists circle the grave and the gravediggers begin to bury her, a camellia is thrown to the coffin. Beverly looks over and sees a mysterious man walking with the other colonists, stops and gives her one glance. Act One Deanna compliments Beverly on the eulogy, where the doctor asks about the mysterious man she saw throw the camellia on the coffin, and describes him as mid 30s with short hair. Deanna says she didn't see anyone that fits her description She says the camellia was her favourite flower, which Troi asks he might be a friend or patient, but then Beverly mentions that he gave her a remarkable look. Realizing the need to get her grandmother's affairs in order, she heads to her house and Deanna comes along with her. Maturin asks Picard how long he plans on staying, which the captain replies it would only be a few hours, and enquires why. Maturin explains to Picard that Caldos II was one of the first terraforming projects in the Federation, and the weather control infusion systems are a century old and he wouldn't mind having a starship engineer take a look at them, perhaps upgrade them; in exchange for a tour of the colony and some home-cooked meals. While the USS Enterprise isn't due to Starbase 621 until the next morning, Picard graciously accepts the governor's offer, and put off the port call and find the time. The tour is an intriguing offer to Picard as he remarks the colony impressive accomplishment, and describes the setting as being on Earth's Scottish Highlands. The governor says that's exactly what the colonists wanted. Every piece of corner stone was brought from cities in Scotland like Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The founder had no intention to imitate Scotland, they wanted to recreate it. When asked what brought the governor to the colony, Maturin replies the culture and the heritage of the Scottish people. He visited Scotland's Glamis Castle when he was a boy and felt he was home when he gazed over the highlands. At Beverly's grandmother's house, Deanna glances at a picture of her and her grandmother and remarks how incredible Felicia's green eyes were. It was a Howard tradition where every women in her family had green eyes, except her mother and herself, explains Beverly. She can remember her mother well, but remembers Nana more than her mother, who raised her after her mother died. Deanna pictures the candle and says how beautiful it is. The candle is a family heirloom and has been in the Howard clan for generations and supposed to symbolize the enduring Howard spirit. Deanna decides to return to the Enterprise and allow Beverly to have some time alone, which she appreciates. Wrapping herself in a blanket and reading her grandmother's journal, she goes upstairs. Another man enters her house unannounced and blows out the candle. The sound of his breath causes Beverly to race down and demands he leaves the house. The man identifies himself to her as Ned Quint, Felicia's caregiver. This surprises the doctor as her grandmother made no mention about Ned, but he replies that there's a lot of things she never talked about and demands she gives up the heirloom. When asked why, he replies the candle has been a curse to her family for generations. Dismissing his claims as rubbish, Beverly forcefully asks Ned to leave. Before leaving, Ned warns her that he will not be responsible for what happens as long as she continues to be stubborn, as with all other Howard women were. Back on the Enterprise, Lieutenant Commander Data preforms basic maintenance on the colony's primary systems. Maturin asks about the seismic stabilizers due to the fact they've been having tremors for the past couple of months. He then humors the android by saying how it's like to enjoy afternoon tea while the earth is shaking. The governor is alerted about a power fluctuation by Geordi La Forge in one of the weather control substations that controls atmospheric humidity. A discovery that surprises Mautrin and says his substations were working for the past 22 years and asks if it's going to be a problem. Data checks the weather patterns and discovers the formation of a storm system in the northern coastal area. A baffled Maturin says they don't get rain in the middle of summer, and Geordi quickly gets to work to correct the problem, and promises Maturin that they'll keep him dry. A promise the governor hopes he would keep as a Caber Toss is scheduled the next day and the last thing he wants to see is that event spoiled by an unexpected downpour. Picard and Beverly discuss the entries in her grandmother's journal and was surprised to learn she had a lover, in the mid 30s to be exact. A finding that surprises the captain. The man is identified as Ronin, 34; whom Felisa met shortly after Beverly's great-grandmother passed away. The fact supported that she believes it was Ronin who threw the camellia onto her grave, but there was no mention of him in any of the letters she sent to her. Picard explains to Beverly they'll be staying for a while longer, which gives her an opportunity to straighten out her grandmothers affairs. As she enters her quarters, Picard wonders why a man like Ronin would be dating Beverly's grandmother at his current age. The heirloom begins to flicker in Beverly's quarters as she is sleeping soundly. The covers over her begin to slide away, as well as her nightgown begins to slide away exposing her shoulder, and Beverly reacts as if someone was kissing her on the neck. An eerie voice calls her name which causes her to rise from her bed in fear as she begins to shiver as to what just went on... Background Information *The episode was heavily based on Anne Rice's novel "The Witching Hour". *The episode features several religious allusions. At Howard's burial service, the mourners can clearly be heard uttering 'Amen', as well as blessing themselves and using the term 'ashes to ashes' in the Christian tradition. *Duncan Regehr later went on to play the recurring role of Shakaar Edon in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Michael Keenan also appeared on DS9 as Patrick in and . *The title is Latin for "under the rose," an expression meaning "secretly," as roses were displayed at Roman gatherings as a signal that what was said there was to be kept confidential. * This episode is one of seven Star Trek episodes with Latin names. The others are , , , , and . * As in-jokes, the gravestones in the graveyard bore the names of various movie characters, including McFly (Back to the Future) and Vader (Star Wars). (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * The caretaker Ned Quint and Jessel Howard are a homage by writer Brannon Braga to valet Peter Quint and the governess Miss Jessel in , another story about ghostly lovers (based on Henry James' ). (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * Literally translated from Japanese, means "drifting person". Generally, however, it is used to refer to a Samurai warrior who lacked a master. Braga made up the name before learning the meaning in Japanese. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 83, . *As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition under the "Crusher" section, . *As part of the TNG Season 7 DVD collection. Links and References Main Cast *Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard *Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker *LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge *Michael Dorn as Worf *Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher *Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi *Brent Spiner as Data Guest Stars *Michael Keenan as Maturin *Shay Duffin as Ned Quint *and Duncan Regehr as Ronin Co-Star *Ellen Albertini Dow as Felisa Howard Uncredited Co-Stars *Michael Braveheart as Ensign Martinez *Tracee Lee Cocco as Lieutenant Jae *Elliot Durant III as an operations division ensign *Keith Rayve as Crewman *Tim McCormack as Ensign Bennett (stock footage) References 47; 1647; Aberdeen; anaphasic energy; anaphasic lifeform; aqueduct; caber toss; Caldos II; Caldos colony; camellia; Celsius; Crusher, Jack; cumulonimbus; Edinburgh; fog; ghost; Glasgow; Glamis Castle; Governor; Howard, Isabel; Howard, Jessel; Howard family candle; McFly; McManus; mok'bara; plasma conduit; power transfer beam; Scots; Scotland; Scottish Highlands; seismic stabilizer; Selar; Starbase 621; terraforming; thunderstorm; Vader; weather control system |next= }} de:Ronin (Episode) es:Sub Rosa nl:Sub Rosa Category:TNG episodes